Incarceration in the United States is one of the main forms of punishment for the commission of felony and other offenses. The United States has the highest documented incarceration rate in the world. At year-end 2009 it was 743 incarcerated per 100,000 population.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) 7,225,800 people at yearend 2009 were on probation, in jail or prison, or on parole — about 3.1% of adults in the U.S. resident population. 2,292,133 were incarcerated in U.S. prisons and jails at year end 2009.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarceration_in_the_United_States
At year end 2009 around 1 out of every 135 U.S. residents was incarcerated in prison or jail.
It is estimated that 1 in 9 state government employees works in corrections.


See Also: List of countries by incarceration rate
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_incarceration_rate

There are currently more than 2.3 million people incarcerated in the United States. What does that look like, exactly? That's equivalent to putting the combined populations of Miami, Las Vegas, and Minneapolis behind bars.

I've been to Vegas. No big loss if everyone there got locked up.

*controversy

Adding video to channels (Controversy) - requested by MrFisk.